Furthermore, it can be argued that propaganda was crucial to the maintenance of power by the Nazis as they portrayed Hitler as powerful and showed him to be good for the country, making sure people continued to show support for the Nazis and it portrayed Hitler as above all party politicking and as a figure for national focus and loyalty. This would have made sure people continued to support Hitler even after he was voted in as they would feel a kind of loyalty towards him. However, Propaganda cannot be described as the only crucial factor in the maintenance of power by the Nazis as propaganda alone cannot change an entire countries views. The introduction of new social controls further aided in the Nazi’s maintenance of power. Anti-Nazi judges were removed and replaced by those
Growth of support for facism was a reason for Mussolinis appointment as Prime Minister,however there were many other reasons for Mussolinis appointment as PM, but growth of support was very important for him. The war and the mutilated victory, had an affect on Mussolinis appointment as PM. The main reason wad that the nationalists were bitterly disappointed that italy didn’t make any gains during the war. The nationalists claimed that Italy had been betrayed by the Liberal government, this shows that the nationalists might have wanted to overthrow the Liberal government and therefore supported Mussolini before he was appointed. This links into the title point that Mussolini had a wide support base and that it was growing.
Theories and Perspectives in Twentieth Century Totalitarian Regimes Discuss Competing Perspectives On The Maintenance of Power in One or More 20th Century Totalitarian Regimes This essay will examine the maintenance of power in fascist Italy after the October 1922 ‘March on Rome’.Benito Mussolini’s political assertiveness and opportunism had helped him capitalise on the fear of a socially complex and politically divided Italy. This essay will explore the measures he and his party took to reign in Italy’s economic and social instabilities, and how he literally disposed of the country’s political divisions. Theseactions would see his fascist party, The PNF, become the first Totalitarian Regime, and the model from which later regimes would be established. I will make comparative analysisof,and identify parallels between Mussolini’s PNF and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in Germany and I will deliberate competing perspectives on the function and viability of the economic, political and social programmes and policies of the party. I will use quantative data where possible to give me a better insightinto both the competing academic perspectives and the influence and effectiveness of the regimes endeavours, which will go towards helpingmeformulate as informed a conclusion of my own as possible.
Weltpolitik or “world policy” was the Kaisers attempt at dominating the political scene worldwide, a policy which is often cited as one of the reasons behind WWI. Despite the obvious flaws in the policy, the Reichstag approved it, indicating that the Kaiser held the ultimate power, making Germany an autocratic state. The second example of the Kaisers domination is his control over Domestic policy. Sammlungspolitik was the Kaisers answer to the threat of socialist uprisings. This policy built up an alliance of conservative interests including the Junkers, élites, industrialists, conservatives and liberals.
Finally, it is necessary to consider the role which Hitler himself played in the Nazi regime, and the underlying debate as to whether or not the development of the nature of Nazi government was planned or accidental. Having considered these factors it is then necessary to see how this affected the nature of Nazi rule. The nature of Nazi government was profoundly influenced by Hitler’s leadership of the Party prior to the seizure of power in 1933. This was characterised by what Max Weber called the concept of ‘charismatic leadership’. Hitler’s authority was derived from his personal qualities as opposed to being vested in the office which he held.
For a better analysis of the topic it is necessary to understand the theory of Fascism, its roots, the people, and how it has influenced the 20th century. The term Fascism is derived from the Italian word fascio, which means "bundle", group, or "union" (Milza). Fascism is defined as a philosophy or a system of government the advocates or exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with an aggressive ideology of nationalism (www.spu.edu). Fascism approaches politics in two central areas, populist and elitist. Populist in that it seeks to activate "the people" as a whole against perceived oppressors or enemies and to create a nation of unity.
Both Count Camillo Cavour of Italy and Prussian Prime Minister Otto Von Bismarck brought their respective nations to unify in their own respective ways. In 1852 Cavour, the Prime Minister on Piedmont, he looked onto other liberal Italian principalities. His greatest contribution was his establishment of diplomacy; the negotiations between states. Meanwhile Prime Minister Otto Von Bismarck had a different view on the unification on his country; he was against diplomacy and remained scornful towards liberals. “The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood” (Bismarck).
This allowed the far right to exploit the Germans hate of the treaty of Versailles and connect the treaty to democracy, so the people wouldn’t blame the loss of ww1 on the army but the democratic politician’s. This led to an increase in public support for a more authoritarian dictatorial system the strengthening the far-right. The other main reason the loss
Mussolini taking office in 1922 sought to increase his own personal power and create a dictatorship through various means of social and ideological change to stir up support and also through the means of violence to crush any opposition.Mussolini's expansion of control from 1924 can be analysed in two interlinked categories.The first which is on the emphasis of his control and whether it was actually as cemented as he may have thought it to be and thus if this cemented control actually spread across the whole nation and all government and state institutions or if it was simply centralised in a specific section of the nation or Govt.Through this we can conclude whether mussolini's policies before and after 1924 did in fact cement his personal power in Italy or were actually cementing fascist power and the possible illusion of a true dictatorship. The first sign of the personal political power of mussolini was emphasised by the 1924 election victory which saw the Fascist party secure 66% of the popular vote and thus increase their seats in the House Of Deputies to 374,securing a clear majority.This was a significant point in the move towards total power as this gave mussolini a mandate and a right to implement radical change as he could now claim that he was 'democratically legitimate' in doing so despite the intimidation,ballot-rigging and Acerbo law that had all added to his advantage and so he would now be able to pass any law without hinderance as the fascist party which was organised in to the Grand council of fascism was filled with 'yes men' who were loyal to mussolini and thus would always vote with him.This significtanly left the role of parliament impotent.To add to this what would have been scene as a crisis by others added to mussolini extending the extent of his personal power.The 'Matteoti crisis' allowed mussolini to finally set up his dictatorship as
It is important to note that Mussolini also advocated ideas of anti-egalitarianism and elitism, making him a very peculiar socialist. He was tied up in underground financial deals which may have changed certain of his political conceptions. When WWI broke out Mussolini first opposed the war but soon realized it was an opportunity (to overthrow the Hapsburg Hohenzollern families, whom he saw as imperialist and anti-socialist. He also saw WWI as an opportunity) for the working classes to rise up and participate in the Italian